A Wallet in Hand is Worth Three Core Values

Dear Readers,

I know it has been a while since my last published post. February has proven to be an extremely difficult month. However, I will plan to stay on top of this blog for the month of March. And what better way to kick off this month than to come in like a lion and honor a Citizen-of-the-Month. Perhaps you remember the story from a past Citizen-of-the Month where we had a student return a lost wallet. However, the circumstances are different and so are the people. Read this story to understand the lengths our next honoree went to:

"As a Clemson alumni not living in the area, nothing is more cherished than the times one gets to return to campus and see what has changed or what has stayed the same. Visiting old friends, co-workers, and students bring back great memories of the time shared on campus. Imagine how my excitement for being on campus was tarnished when I had realized I had lost my credit card. I had put it in my pocket along with my cell phone as I walked across campus to meet friends for lunch. Apparently, at one point along my journey...I had pulled out my cell phone and my credit card fell out with it.

When I got to the Quad, I was waiting for my friends and my Blackberry beeped letting me know I had a Facebook message...I am a millenial student and I do have a Blackberry and I do have Facebook on it. The Facebook message was from someone I didn't know, a Meghan Marr, but it was titled 'Credit Card.' Unsure of how to locate me, she searched for me on Facebook and sent me a message...giving me her phone number, but also saying she was leaving town and would try to get the card to her roommate if she not going to be around. Not being from around Clemson I knew I had to call her soon!I immediately called her and was able to meet with her in front of Mauldin Hall to get the card back. 

I do not know many people who would go out of their way like that to track down a complete stranger to give back a credit card, but I am very thankful for Meghan Marr!"

Submitted by,

Amber Poulsen

Clemson University Alumnus

So to all my Generation X and Baby Boomer friends who are not on Facebook, please do so immediately.  In any case, congratulations to Meghan Marr, who is our February Citizen-of-the-Month. As always, please help me thank her for being such a positive role model.

Always,

-j-

Callie Boyd

It is my pleasure to once again announce our Citizen-of-the-Month. And this one is extra special as it is our first citizen for 2009. Please help me in congratulating our Clemson Undergraduate Student Body President, Callie Boyd, as our January Citizen-of-the-Month. Here is the nomination letter: 

I'd like to nominate Callie Boyd for the Citizen of the Month. I looked through the website and do not think she has received recognition yet. 

Callie has been an inspiration to me as someone who always challenges herself to act ethically. Not only does she act ethically, she challenges others to do so as well. I have personally asked her to mentor me because she is a student that lives out what she believes and says. She is in a position where she is constantly representing students and attending important meetings and she does so with an appropriate level of professionalism and enthusiasm to advocate on behalf of students.

I can write more but your description only asked for a few sentences. If she is not going to be chosen this month, I will continue to write each month until she does win :)

Thank you for considering my nomination. I value having Callie Boyd as my [Undergraduate] Student Body President and I hope that you can thank her for what she does and her ethical leadership on behalf of the Student Body she so diligently serves and represents.

Sincerely,

An Anonymous Student

After a request like that, OCES, could not say no. I feel it is also important to mention that this is the second nomination that we have received for Callie this year. She truly is making a huge impact on the campus community. I'm so glad we could honor her in this manner.

Sincerely,

-j-

Our First Conflict Mediation Workshop

The Office of Community and Ethical Standards would like to invite our colleagues within Student Affairs to our first Conflict Mediation Workshop. This event will be held in the Student Senate Chambers on Friday, February 27, 2009 from 8:45-4:30pm. With respect to schedules, participants are allowed to come and go as necessary. However, to limit confusion this workshop will be delivered in two sections: Conflict Mediation I will take place in the morning section and Conflict Mediation II will take place during the afternoon. If you are interested in attending, feel free to RSVP by sending an email to jcarte2@clemson.edu. Please reserve your spot early as space is limited. Some seats are reserved just for students.

The workshop is being presented by Amanda Kiakis, Director of Judicial Services at State University of New York, Oneonta. The purpose of this workshop will show us how to work better within teams, solve problems better as a unit, and help to reinforce the concept of One Clemson on campus. This will be an amazing free professional development opportunity to those interested. If you have any questions feel free to post them here or contact our directly.

Same Vision in a New Year

Welcome back to the students, faculty, and staff of Clemson University and welcome back to other readers of this blog. As we begin another semester in academia, I thought it would be beneficial to reiterate our vision for the Office of Community and Ethical Standards. As a part of the Division of Student Affairs, we are committed to the educational missions of Student Affairs and Clemson University. We see our office as an important component of student development and we will continue to help students become successful members of the Clemson community and prepare them for a lifetime role of global citizenship.

We will continue to promote the Core Values on campus as we see this as the vehicle to lead all students to appropriate community interactions. We will also continue to support students and student organizations in their endeavors who are serving as role models of the Clemson Core Values to other students. Our office will continue to provide more educational programming to prevent students from having to be exposed to the student discipline process. The end result is that students who interact with our office will have a stronger sense of community, and we will reduce the number of students having to participate in a discipline hearing and/or conference.

We cannot do this alone and we appreciate the faculty, staff, and students who help us in our education efforts. However, we do need more help, if we are to achieve these goals. If you are passionate about making an impact, or have a desire to help others but don't know how to get started; give me a call and I can help you get plugged into what we are doing. Thank you for a wonderful 2008. Here's to 2009!

Sincerely,

-j-

Office of Community and Ethical Standards 

656-0510

In Closing

These are my personal thoughts about the fall 2008 semester in one succinct paragraph. It has been a whirlwind of a semester with a host of challenges and little time to fulfill all of my goals. However, I think we have put in place a solid foundation for great programs and services to come in the future. Our Citizen-of-the-Month Award is increasing in popularity, new programs will be implemented in the spring semester, and we have even begun laying out a process for mediating conflicts outside of a disciplinary hearing. All good things to take pride in. However, it cannot go without saying that I had a lot of help along the way. So to my best friends in the Office of Community and Ethical Standards, to the members of the wonderful Division of Student Affairs, and the amazing students, faculty, and staff that have helped in creating a new OCES this semester, I offer my sincerest thanks, appreciation, and admiration for the work that you have done. 

Here's to a new semester,

-JC-

A Friend of Ben

Many of you who read this blog, know of the program "Friends of Ben." This group came together to turn a tragedy into a positive for Clemson University. This program has been well-received in our community and attendance has been high as these men make a passionate appeal to heavy drinkers. It is a member of this group that was nominated and I would like to highlight as our last Citizen-of-the-Month for the Fall 2008 semester. Below is the nomination letter from Rusty Guill, Associate Associate Dean of Student Affairs, in support of Ben Leader, our November Citizen-of-the-Month: 

"I would like to nominate Ben Leader. Ben has been very instrumental and a lead coordinator with alcohol education programs in connection with the Ben Sprague death one year ago due to alcohol poisoning. Just in the past month he and a group of friends have presented the program "Friends of Ben" to groups at Clemson and Furman. It is estimated that about 1500 students have attended this presentation. Media was on hand for the presentation in Tillman Hall about 2 weeks ago. They have just been invited to take this program to Wofford. It is a program dedicated to discussing the dangers of risky drinking behavior. It is a very open and honest discussion about what can and does happen with alcohol at social events and the consequences of the risky behavior. 

Ben was also the lead coordinator with the candlelight vigil this past Sunday night to remember the passing of Ben Sprague. This was a very large and very well organized event." -Rusty Guill-

Thank you Ben, for your demonstration of the Clemson Core Values in such a meaningful way.

-JC-

Something Needs to Happen

Last year (August-May) OCES had one computer misuse case that involved using a peer-to-peer file sharing network to download copyrighted material. This year we had a total of 143 cases (August-October). Why do you think this is? Has something changed on campus? What can we do to educate students on this problem?

Thanks,

-j-